General Update

I have been writing up all the things that we see different between the US and Korea, but its getting harder and harder as we get used to everything.  I'm even almost used the the hocking of lugies that happens very loudly here whenever you walk down the road.  I was trying to think of something to write about this week, and I realized you may want to know how Riley and I are actually doing.  Here is an update of our work lives:

Riley: He is starting his second semester as a graduate student.  Lately he has been having more fun because he is building a lab from scratch and now has "toys" (a glove box, electrical equipment, a tool box) to play with.  He is mostly trying to get everything organized and set up so that he can start actually doing his experiments (someday maybe he will write them up, they are a little complicated and require diagrams).  His furnace will arrive Monday, and he will put that in his glovebox.  His work has been slow due to his many responsibilities and his one class takes up about 1/5 of his working time.  The other quarter of his time is spent working on his computer code, and for the past two weeks, he has gone to many meetings, so the time he actually devotes to his experimental work is minimal.  At least its not the real world.  He often jokes about how someday he'll skip the meetings.  But he is generally happy.

Margaret: I am involved in 3 very different projects ranging from ecological restoration to economics to water spray dust capture.  I have realized that some people really do use differential equations in their work (which I have never learned).  I consider my time at work an opportunity to try to figure out the best way to get engineers and non-engineers to understand each other.  It mostly comes down to: engineers think everyone knows some things that only engineers know, and non-engineers think engineers should know everything about something they only know a part of.  I miss trees, but at least the weather is getting a little warmer.

Both: We have been here long enough that we now have commitments to things during the week.  We lead an english talking club once a week, and we also lead a bible study thorough our church where we cook supper.  We cook for a potluck once a week as well.  We are learning to cook lots of interesting things (not a lot of baking, but we have made a lot of friends with people who have ovens!). 

Life is becoming normal for us here in Korea, but we still can't eat kimchi for breakfast!